What's better than diving into a new ebook? Knowing that you got it for free. Check out these fascinating history accounts that are free to download for the whole month.
Ten Days That Shook the World
The classic account of the Russian Revolution by an American journalist who witnessed it firsthand.
John Reed, an American writer for a socialist magazine, was in Petrograd when the Bolsheviks seized power in November 1917 and Russia began its transformation into the Soviet Union. Read by Lenin himself and adapted into a film by Sergei Eisenstein, Reed’s eyewitness account is a masterpiece of twentieth-century reporting.
Acknowledged by the author as a sympathetic portrait of the revolution, Ten Days That Shook the World was nevertheless praised by the decidedly non-Communist historian George Kennan for its “literary power [and] command of detail”—and banned by none other than Stalin. It remains a riveting and remarkable record of this world-altering event, vividly capturing the words and deeds of both leaders and ordinary people in a moment of radical change.
Sketches in the History of the Underground Railroad
True stories drawn from the inspirational and heartrending history of the Underground Railroad
It is estimated that by 1850 over one hundred thousand slaves had escaped to freedom in the North via a network of safe houses and secret routes known collectively as the Underground Railroad. First published in 1879, Sketches in the History of the Underground Railroad chronicles the perilous journeys and thrilling adventures of nearly two-dozen escaped slaves and the brave souls who helped them along the way. Compiled by a conductor on the Railroad, these sketches bring the horrors of slavery to vivid life and serve as an enduring testament to the power of the human spirit.
Common Sense
The rousing argument for independence that inspired a nation
Published anonymously in 1776, this landmark political pamphlet spread across the colonies more rapidly than any document of its kind ever had before. Its words were read aloud in town squares, its pages affixed to tavern walls. Both a clear-eyed, plainly stated case for separation from Great Britain and a stirring call to action, Common Sense sparked the imagination of a fledgling nation and played a decisive role in the march toward revolution. Thomas Paine’s masterpiece is crucial reading for any student of American history.
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